(pictures courtesy of http://www.umpqua-watersheds.org/
There has been a growing concern around the globe which consist of trees have been in existence for at least 250 years. These forests have large trees, large fallen logs, and large standing snags (dead trees). These trees may be as much as 100 meters in height and over two meters in diameter. According to the World Resources Institute, "the battle over what remains of the Northwest's old-growth or 'ancient forests' is one of America's most emotional political issues" (Old-Growth Forest in the United States Pacific Northwest, 1998).

The National Forest Management Act (1976) requires the United States Forest Service to maintain viable populations of all vertebrate species. Certain species of these vertebrates inhabit these old growth forests. One example is the northern spotted owl. These old growth forests are preferred by and are sometimes the only habitats for a growing list of various species. The purpose of this Act is to prevent logging which would endanger the existence of these species. Disappearance of any species from a particular area is an indicator that the area is being threatened.

The Task

(pictures courtesy of www.efn.org/~redcloud/)
Since only about 20% of the world's large ancient forests still remain in existence, the President of the United States has commissioned many committees in the past which accomplish nothing and often never reach a consensus suitable to meet the needs of the general public. This is a direct result of other governmental committees formed in the past where different groups have come before them to express their views. Therefore, a self-appointed committee of "ordinary" citizens has come together to resolve what's an ancient forest anyway? Should the last of the ancient forests in the greater United States can be saved from deforestation? Can't replanting suffice? Shouldn't the needs of the people come before the needs of the spotted owl?

Each committee member is responsible for studying the issue, gathering the information, and assessing the information on the issue. Each will bring the results of his/her study to present to the committee which will have to come to a consensus regarding its position, and create a report that will include both a written text and a video. This information will first be presented to a local town hall meeting, which will vote on the position presented. Thus, this position will address how the remaining ancient forests should be managed. This committee will be studying a smaller area, the Pacific Northwest, as a test area.Then, this position will be presented at future town hall meetings across the country. Will you be creating a new paradigm of decision making? Are you revolutionizing the practice of a true democracy in this country?

The Process

1. Assign your group members one of the following roles to assume while working on this project. Remember that for each aspect of this project, you will be viewing / reacting to the information from your role's viewpoint only. It is important to become that person. To study your role, see the following links:

Mr. Burns
Dwayne Hoover
Blade McCullough
Kilgore Trout
Jordan Whitewater
Eddie Vedder

2. Once you have had a chance to study the role you are to assume, you have a homework assignment to begin this evening. It is to compose a journal entry which takes the form of an interior monologue. An interior monologue presents the stream of consciousness of a character by presenting a character's thoughts. You are to reflect on the following information. Just who are you? What is your role about? What are your feelings about old growth forests in general? Which of the following factors would play a large role in your considerations about the old growth forests: ecological factors, economic factors, environmental factors, and / or recreational factors? What do you think each of these are? This response should be at least one page in length, and no longer than two pages. You should take a couple days to reflect on your role's considerations. You should have a better idea of how your character would feel after studying your role page, and reading about the handling of old growth forests in fiction. This journal response should be placed in your group's portfolio. Your portfolio is a key part of this project. All your work for this project will be kept in here, and left at school so that your teachers can peruse your portfolios to see what you have accomplished on your project thus far.

3. As a group, first you will meet and read together the excerpt from The Tree People by Naomi Stokes to ascertain how the issue of the deforestation of the ancient forests now permeates fiction, especially that of the Pacific Northwest. Visit the link to key questions so that you know what you must answer to demonstrate your comprehension of the excerpt as well as to determine connections between the reading and this project. The answers to these questions should be placed in your portfolio for this project. Then, discuss how the excerpt presents the issue, and the attitude present about the issue with your fellow group members.  Finally, you should list at least five key points which can be gleaned from the excerpt regarding old growth forests.

(picture courtesy of www.efn.org/~redcloud)
4. Visit the following sites developed by or about the lumber companies. Here you will learn their policies regarding the handling of old growth forests as well as their general handling and outlook on the timber industry. These are but a few of the existing companies in the Pacific Northwest. You may want to investigate others through a search.

Humboldt Lumber Company
Pacific Lumber
Plum Creek

5.Visit the following sites to study environmental and ecological issues regarding the old growth forests. This should help you distinguish between the ecological factors and the environmental factors mentioned in the next step. You may want to do a search to find other sites at this point to help you differentiate between the two. Use one of the search engines given in number 9, or try google (www.google.com/). To help you out, make sure you use quotation marks in your search. For example, to search for information on environmental factors, type in: "environmental factors" + "old growth." Remember the use of the quotation marks when you do you search for other sites later on the topic at hand.

Endangered Ecosystems of the United States
Old Growth Forests

6. Plan to meet in the library to acquire information from magazines, books, and other off line sources that study the factors that support / refute the necessity of preserving ancient forests. Find one example of each of the following: ecological indicators, economic indicators, environmental indicators, and/or recreational indicators. An ecological indicator is the interrelationship between organisms and their environments.  An economic indicator pertains to the production, distribution, and use of wealth, income, and commodities. An environmental indicator deals with the conditions and influences as affecting the existence or development of living organisms. Finally, a recreational indicator includes the past time diversion exercise or other resources affording relaxation and enjoyment. Each group member should find information on each of the aforementioned indicators.

7. Visit at least three of the six different on line sources which can be found on the role pages. Some of these on line sources provided also have several other links which you may want to visit for information since these links also provide pertinent information for your research. You also may want to suggest one or more of your sites for use by one of your other committee members.

8. Write down at least five key facts from each on line site visited that support your role's view about the deforestation of ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest. Then categorize these facts according to whether they address ecological, economic, environmental, and / or recreational factors. Some of these sites address more than one issue. Don't forget to document your sources so that you can provide the proper documentation for electronic resources in your final report. This means you need to record the following information when you visit each site:  the site's address, the title of the page, the date you visited the page, and the author (if given).  You should consider categorizing these facts as part of your homework after those days spent in the computer lab so you can stay on top of the information you are accumulating. This way it will not become overwhelming to you later when you write your position essay.

9. Once you have researched these sources, you need to surf the web to find at least one of your own sources, using one of the following search engines: Altavista (www.altavista.com/), Google (www.megacrawler.com/) or Excite (www.excite.com/ ). You may have some internet experience, and may know of other search engines to use. You may use those as you wish as long as you find at least one of your own sources. Once you have found your site, you should complete the same kind of research here as you did on the previous sites provided for you. Don't forget to write down pertinent information from this site so that you can document the information later in your final report.

10. Formulate, then compose your role's position statement regarding what should be done with the ancient forests, using the information you acquired from both your on line and off line sources. The format this part should take is a multi-paragraph essay.

11. Meet together as a group, your subcommittee, to present your individual position statements about the issue. Each group member should read his/her position statement at other groups members should have a copy of your position statement so that it is easy to discuss the positive and negative aspects present. Your task as a group member is to evaluate the validity of the material presented by your other group members at this time. At the completion of your subcommittee meeting, each group member must complete two evaluation forms, one which evaluates your sub-committee meeting as a whole regarding what was accomplished, and one which evaluates the work of individual subcommittee group member.

12. After all the position statements have been read and discussed, it is then your task to write a brief report which incorporates the points with which all group members agree. As another part of your task, a five minute video should be created. This means  you first need to create a story board. {A copy of your story board for the video should be kept in your portfolio). You may have to compromise your positions a little at this point to come to a consensus. Your position should incorporate specific recommendations for solutions to quell the controversy. Your position should also address the role of the ecological, economic, environmental, recreational factors in your position.

13. Once your brief report has been written, you will complete a powerpoint presentation before a special town hall meeting. Present at this meeting are the townspeople of Midland City, Oregon, (your classmates) and the President (your teachers).  You should be prepared to answer questions about your position in a brief question / answer period after you present the report.

14. Compose a final reflection which addresses what you have learned from completing this project. This means reflecting on your group's dynamics (how well you worked together as a group to come to a consensus, including any problems which may have arisen), how you feel about the poignancy of your power point presentation, what you think you have learned about the topic, and how you can apply any of what you have learned in your future endeavors).

Evaluation

Your performance on this project will be evaluated in a variety of ways, both individually and as a group. These evaluations will be completed throughout your work on this project. Your individual assessments will entail graded assignments, such as your journal reflection and answers to the questions for The Tree People. Your group assessments will entail grading by both your teachers and your fellow group members through conferencing on a weekly basis. Furthermore, your group will be compiling a portfolio throughout the process which will be left at school for teacher and group member access. These portfolios will be an integral part of the final grade for your final research report, and the power point presentation.

Conclusion

By the time you have completed this project, perhaps you will continue to work on discovering solutions for the problem addressed by this project. Perhaps you will try to solve a problem in your community at large which is important to you, using the skills learned completing this project. Think about whether or not you have created a new paradigm of decision making. Will you revolutionize the practice of a true democracy in this country?

References
Red Cloud Thunder at Fall Creek
(http://www.efn.org/~redcloud)
This site presents information about what is being done in the Cascadia National Forest in Washington to protest using such actions as tree sitting to protect the ancient forests from local timber companies which are located there. It also provides links which address what is described as the common misconceptions about forestry. These links include logger's jobs and the decay of old growth forests just to identify a couple.

Old-Growth Forests in the United States: Pacific Northwest
(http://www.econet.apc.org/wri/biodiv/b011-btl.html)
This site gives background information regarding old growth forests, including their nature and value, their extent, and their future.

Umpqua Watersheds Inc.
(http://www.umpqua-watersheds.org/)
This site offers information about the Umpqua National Forest in Oregon, which includes facts about timber sales, the effects of clearcutting, and the like in the area. This site also graciously gave us permission to use some pictures from their site here.